The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1887-09-27
CONJURER HERMANN.
Some of the Lately Deceased Necroman-
GERS Wonderful Tricks.

GERS Wonderful Tricks.
He seemed to defy the impossible. !
remember once, on Change in Buenos
Ayres (where, by the way. he was an
extensive aad most unlucky operator),
at an hour when the building was
crowded with men, after short delay,
on being challenged to exhibit some
tour de force, he lifted his hat and dis
played his own boot on his head-this,
be it observed, without going near a
table or, as far as any one had noticed,
seeking any concearment for his bare
foot or opportunity to remove his
hat. For special occasions he spared
no time, trouble or expense, before
hand that some feat might wear the
appearance of complete spOntaneity-
Mention has already been made in
some of the newspapers of his casting
the Sultan's watch into the Bosphor-
us. That did not witness, but / was
in Constantinople when he dined with
the British Minister and a number If
other gentlemen. In the course of the
meal he raised his glass, which had
just been filled with champagne. above
his head, and, attracting the attention
of all present by crying, "Oh, what
beautiful winen caused the champagne
to sink in the glass and vanish. On
being replenished, the same thing oc-
Cured; the third time the glass disap-
peared also. Now, the glamor of this
seemed purely incidental to the situa-
ton, but happened to know the fore
thought and energy which had been
expended over it, especially in connec-
ton with the difficulties of ascertainipg
the precise pattern of the champagne
glasses likely to be used and of match
ing them. Specialties like this were
planned for execution at all the counts
where his skill was manifested, and
there is no doubt that his personal in
fluence, his adroitness, and his extra
ordinary familiarity with all the
tongues and patOis were invoked more
than once by those in authority for
other ends.
He would never suffer himself to be
OuUNVAO " any OIiCl hCNIOuAduCCAS
hence his possession of apparatus
which he despised. His goldfish
bowls were larger than those of other
prestidigitateurs Zone, before me as /
write, now serves as a sufficiently
capacious bath for family of thirty
little japanese snakes); where they
worked with pigeons, he used fowls
and geese; and from the hat he would
produce not merely tin goblets, card
board boxes and compressible balls,
but metal tea-kettles and lighted
lamps. His singularly long, spare
body admitted of his dress coat con-
tanning two tiers of loading pockets"
and afforded great facilities for con-
cealment. When at Cairo he was
riyaled by troupe of Arab snake
charmers, and, in spite of his detesta-
ton of serpents, he forced himself to
initiate. their maneuvers with two
cobras from which the fangs had been
taken. Such was his horror of these
reptiles, however, that more than once
he was impelled to rush from the
stage and tear off his coat, where they
were lying, snugly slowed away in the
profondes. He designed an ingenious
wand for transformation into a liv.
ing snake. This was a hollow tube
painted black to resemble his usual
magic wand. A snake of suitable
length was caused to enter this, and q.
metal cap was screwed firmly ON
rs soon as its tail was ip. The head
would now project about an inch at the
other end, over which rather loosely
fitting cap was placed, the whole then
looking exactly like an ordinary ebony
baton. To the screwed end fine silk
cord was attached, passing up the
sleeve, across the chest beneath the
shirt front, and down the other arm,
where ii was tied around the wrist, ths
length being so adapted that it admit
ted of the wand being held with both
hands when the arms were bent, but
effected its rapid withdrawal up the
sleeve when the opposite arm was ex-
tended. Zone of the vanishing bird
cages is managed on a similar princi-
plO. The loose cap was to be removed
and palmed with (say) the left hand,
the snakes head exposed, grasped and
drawn forward, the action of extensions
causing the wand to disappear. The
effect was marvellous, but he never used
it in public, nor would he avail himself
Of the services of couple of young bos
which / tanned for him at
his own request In South America.
however, he sometimes turned q cage
full of brilliant plumaged tanagers into
bloated swamp-toads, though he didn't
ike them either.-LofsdoB Globe.
-overgaiters are again fashionable
It is correct to have several shades, &C.